


My Heart Beats Only For You

by thefarofixer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Planet, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling, M/M, Season 7 compliant, confession of feelings, stuck in a storm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 20:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16226966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefarofixer/pseuds/thefarofixer
Summary: They call them supply runs even though technically they don’t need supplies.Keith and Shiro take a break together on a planet during their long journey back to Earth and finally talk about some things.





	My Heart Beats Only For You

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to get back into the writing groove!

They call them supply runs even though technically they don’t need supplies. 

Shiro hadn’t been conscious when they’d had to scramble to load what they could from the Castle to the Lions before it was destroyed, forced into snap judgments on what precious few belongings they could bring and what supplies they’d need that could fit into the Lions’ limited space. After he’d woken up enough to be moved from a pod to a bed he’d found in a small locker next to him his meagre belongings, mostly odds and ends he’d collected on alien planets since his imprisonment, along with the clothes that Keith had given him during his brief moments on Earth before the Blue Lion had basically kidnapped them. Later Keith had given him a full Sit Rep giving him a run-down of all the supplies Coran and Hunk and Allura had thought to load up which was luckily more than enough to get them to Earth. 

So they don’t actually need to stop on any of the (mostly) uninhabited planets, moons or asteroids they’ve encountered along the way of their seemingly never-ending trip back to Earth, but for all that the Lions seemed roomy and large when they’d first set out it doesn’t take long for them to start going a little stir crazy. It was Keith, sick of breaking up one too many bickering fight over coms who’d finally broken down and suggested the occasional ‘supply run’. 

“Just in case,” he’d said, a little too casually. Nobody had argued. 

In the beginning they’d all gone together, but it quickly became apparent that the Lions as a group tended to attract more attention and trouble than a singular Lion with a passenger or two. Now they take turns, swapping out who gets to go, and who the extra passengers are. 

This time it’s Keith’s turn, and he specifically requests that Shiro, and only Shiro go with him. Shiro, having lately been staying in the Green Lion with Pidge, hesitates, caught off guard, and it’s only when he glances at the comms screen and sees Keith’s face tighten into an emotionless mask at his hesitation that he agrees. 

It’s not that he doesn’t want to go spend time with Keith, it’s that maybe he wants to a little _too_ much, and while he’s fully recovered from his literal actual death experience, he’s still working on getting a handle on anything beyond the basics of just living. 

At first when he’d woken up he could barely stand to let Keith out of his sight. Luckily Keith seemed to feel the same so he never had to ask Keith to stay close. It was slightly irrational, but part of him felt like Keith was the only thing keeping him still tethered to this body, to life, and if Keith went too far from him, if the invisible thread between them was stretched until it snapped that he’d be lost again in the spirit world, this time for good. 

Then, as he slowly began to feel a little more stable, Keith’s constant presence and closeness began to feel a little overwhelming, as good as it was. Shiro began to notice things too. His vision is sharper, as is his sense of smell, his sense of touch. Back before when he’d been stuck in his old, failing body, he’d lived by the mantra that he had to be twice as good in order to prove himself and achieve his dreams, and that meant he had to put in four times the effort in order to compensate and keep his body’s moments of weakness from failing him and everyone around him. It feels at once miraculous and infuriating now, that seeing, hearing, moving all comes so easy to him. It also means he has to adjust to the fact that all these things that had been dulled down that he’d taken for granted are all amplified. 

He’d always vaguely registered that Keith had a pleasant natural scent about him but now, in the small interiors of the Black Lion they’re sharing it’s intoxicatingly strong and everywhere. Shiro can’t get away from it and worse, he doesn’t want to. Now when he glances over at Keith in the pilot’s chair he can pick out every one of Keith’s long dark lashes. 

It’s a balm, at first, and then slowly it becomes untenable, because his instincts are all telling him to get as close to Keith as possible but whenever he closes his eyes, all he can see is his own weaponized arm being used to cut down the thing he holds most dear in this universe, apparently. Eventually he forces himself to move to the Green Lion. The others had been rotating between Lions so it’s not so strange for him to do so as well, except for the incredulous expressions everyone gives him when he suggests it says that maybe it is. Keith doesn’t try to stop him though. Just pulls him in tight before he goes and tells him he’s always welcome back if Pidge starts driving him too crazy. In that moment, with Keith’s face tucked up against Shiro’s neck he almost changes his mind, but he needs time and space to think, and he can’t do that here with Keith filling up his senses and dominating his every waking thought. 

And things are a little easier, around Pidge. She’s messy and gets hyperfixated on things sometimes, but she leaves Shiro alone when he needs it. She’s so different from Keith, her friendship with Shiro so simple and easy it does help a little, at first. But once he centers himself and tries to figure out what to do next about this...thing with Keith, he’s still at a loss, even with two Lions and the dark cold of space between them. 

So he has mixed feelings on going for a supply run with Keith. For all that he tries to always act with conviction he’s always had a kernel of doubt deep inside and Keith has always been the only one to make those doubts fade away just by the strength of his own seemingly endless belief in Shiro. It’s humbling and Shiro has always let it warm him until now, when that belief had almost meant Keith’s end. 

If the planet he and Keith choose ever had a name, they aren’t aware of it. On their star charts it simply is assigned an alpha-numeric code, indicating its position but no other information. Scans show it devoid of life beyond a significant amount of flora, but it does have an oxygen based atmosphere and Shiro is beyond grateful to step out onto the loosely packed alien dirt and take his helmet off for a deep breath of air, hearing Keith do the same beside him. 

The planet is beautiful, but Shiro can’t help but watch Keith as they begin to walk around and take in their surroundings. There’s a feeling of great validation, seeing Keith like this now, so sure of himself, so comfortable in his skin, like the last missing piece has finally clicked into place. 

“This is nice,” Keith says, breaking Shiro out of his reverie. “It’s been a little while since we’ve been able to spend time together, just the two of us.” 

“Yeah,” Shiro agrees, because for all of his uncertainty and internal angst, even when he feels overwhelmed by Keith, he will never not enjoy time with him. 

“This way,” Keith says after a moment, heading in what seems to be a random direction. 

And Shiro never really gets used to this, exploring new planets, seeing new forms of life. They’d had to break through significant cloud cover to land so there’s a gray overcast to the scenery but it’s still dazzling. The soil beneath their feet is almost spongy, a dark reddish tinge to it, and the trees around them have thin branches that spiral up and out in almost geometric patterns, forming octagons and loops. They also appear to be covered in glass, or maybe ice, it’s hard to say. The environment doesn’t seem cold enough for it to be frozen water, but there are all manner of alien substances it could be and Shiro knows better than to assume how things might work on this particular planet. 

Shiro is loathe to disturb the branches by breaking off one in order to get a closer look and at a glance he can’t tell whether it’s a trick of the light that makes the solid centers beneath the glassy sheaths seem colorful or if the branches truly are all as rainbow-brilliant as they seem even in the dim light. 

“I don’t think there’ll be much in the way of useable supplies,” Shiro says eventually, forcing himself to break the comfortable silence that’s fallen between them as they walk, Keith’s wolf trotting beside them. He’s about to suggest they head back when Keith pauses, looking around. 

“Just a little further,” Keith implores and Shiro has always had a hard time saying no to Keith so he smiles and relents. He notices that Keith seems to be following a sort of worn path between the trees above them and rocky outcroppings between. 

Soon the trees part and Keith pauses at the top of worn rocky steps overlooking a sort of valley with ruins at the bottom. 

“Wow,” Shiro breathes out in surprise and awe. It’s a breathtaking structure, smooth black stone tempered by hints of brilliant polished color from accents of carved wood that haven’t fallen or decayed. 

“Right?” Keith says, his own voice holding something like nervous excitement in it. He gives Shiro an unreadable look, then glances at the sky behind them. “We should get inside before the storm hits.” 

“Storm?” Shiro says stupidly, then looks at the sky as well. Now that he’s paying attention again he sees the clouds above them darkening and moving fast in their direction. The wind is starting to kick up around them as well and he turns back to Keith. “Should we try to get back to Black?” 

“We’ll never make it,” Keith says, not meeting Shiro’s eyes. “And I want to save the wolf’s teleports for a true emergency. Come on, this structure must have been here for thousands of years, I’m sure it can protect us from a short storm.” 

“Whatever you say,” Shiro agrees, following Keith quickly down the steps. It makes sense, what Keith said, but something is niggling at him. Something Keith isn’t saying maybe. 

If the building ever had doors they’ve long since gone, but once they’re inside they wind their way through echoing stone halls until they find a room that has four walls and a roof and and no plant life growing in it. It has a small fireplace in the corner as well as shelves built in to the wall. There’s a low bench between the shelves in the wall next to the fireplace and Keith’s wolf goes and flops down contentedly in front of it. 

“The storm might last for a while,” Keith says, glancing around and then turning to Shiro. He shakes his head once and then straightens his shoulders in the way he does when he’s made a decision. “Do you think you could find some wood in one of the rooms nearby? It’s pretty cold and dark in here.” 

“Sure,” Shiro says, feeling like he’s missing something. Finding wood is easy enough, and when he gets back with it, it sparks quickly when lit, the flames forming rotating spirals in the same brilliant colors of the wood. It fills the room with a warm glow, and Shiro feels something in his chest ease slightly, at being in a room that isn’t full of the harsh metal lines or artificial light of a spaceship. When he turns he finds Keith has stripped down to his soft black undersuit, his armor set to the side and is sitting on the bench, several blankets from his emergency pack laid out. Shiro thinks maybe he should hesitate, but he doesn’t, just slips out of his own armor and then sits down on the bench as well. 

“Might as well get some rest,” Keith says, voice quiet. Shiro shifts so his back is against the wall behind the bench, then slides down, letting Keith fit himself comfortably against him, his back to Shiro’s front. He tucks into the space like it was made for him and even though they’ve never done this before there’s such a sense of familiarity and rightness that Shiro feels his whole body slowly relax like it hasn’t done in he’s not sure how long. 

“How did you know to find this place?” Shiro asks eventually, once the room is warm and the air between them heavy. 

“Remember how I told you about how my mom and I got glimpses of each others memories when we were on the space whale?” Keith asks. Shiro looks down and sees Keith staring determinedly into the fire, his eyes glowing with its reflection. It’s beautiful in a way that feels entirely alien and sometimes Shiro wonders how he’d ever mistaken Keith’s otherworldly beauty for entirely human. 

“Yeah,” Shiro replies quietly. He taps his fingers against his own thigh as they itch to reach out and touch the scar on Keith’s cheek. He keeps his hand to himself, he was the one who put it there after all. 

“It wasn’t just the past we saw,” Keith says after a moment. “Sometimes we saw things that had never happened to us before.” 

“You mean...the future,” Shiro says. 

“We think so,” Keith says. “The glimpses we got of what we think might be the future were a lot more brief and disjointed. They weren’t memories, they were visions, and without context they often felt more like riddles than revelations I guess. Sometimes they seemed contradictory so I don’t even know if all of them will happen for certain. More like a bunch of ‘what ifs’ I guess, than facts. But I saw this place once, and I saw us here. I knew from the moment when we landed and we saw those trees that we’d find this place here, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was certain. It felt almost like a dream, you know?” 

“Have any others come true so far? Or is this the first time?” Shiro asks, trying to gather his thoughts at this revelation. 

“This is the second,” Keith says, grimacing. 

“What was the first?” Shiro forces himself to ask, although the hollow pit in his stomach makes him think he already knows. 

Keith hesitates. 

“It was when I tried to kill you,” Shiro says, every word feeling like broken glass. 

“Wasn’t it?” 

“That wasn’t you, Shiro,” Keith says insistently, twisting to look at Shiro, meeting his eyes from just inches away. It’s almost unbearably intimate. 

“But it _was_ me,” Shiro protests, because how can he not, this has been plaguing him ever since he was dragged back to the land of the living and was forced to confront his worst fears in the form of his double’s fractured memories. “That body may not have been controlled by my consciousness at the time but he _was_ me, he was _made_ from me, he felt like me, thought like me, thought he _was_ me. And those may not be my memories, but those memories are now mine.” 

“I get that Shiro, I do, and I’m not trying to dismiss him. He was important to me too,” Keith says, his voice breaking slightly. “You’re always important to me no matter what form you’re in. But he’d been used by Haggar, just like you were okay. And when he hurt me, it wasn’t him. _She_ was doing that. Not you. And if you remember it, you’ll remember fighting it. I could see it in his eyes. He was in there fighting her, and that’s why I fought _for_ him, not against him. Why I will always fight for you.” 

“And look where it’s got you,” Shiro says, letting out a little of the bitterness that he usually tries to repress. 

“Exactly,” Keith says, but his eyes are shining and his voice triumphant, like Shiro has just made his point. “I finally got to meet my mother after all this time, and I’ve had the honor of joining both Voltron and the Blade of Marmora. Every day I get to fight alongside some of the best people I’ve ever known. Shiro, because of you I have a _family_. I have a purpose. And most importantly I have you.” 

He turns away again when he’s finished, like that’s all there is to say on the matter, and Shiro lets him take hold of Shiro’s hand, dragging it over his side. 

“I’m here because of you and I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Keith says, and Shiro feels something shatter inside of him, then reform anew. He squeezes his eyes shut against the wetness he can feel gathering at the corners and lets himself slide his hand through the opening at the top of Keith’s shirt so he can place his hand directly onto the skin above Keith’s warmly beating heart. 

“I guess this is one advantage of only having one arm,” Shiro says shakily. 

“What’s that,” Keith asks. 

“I don’t have to worry about where to put my right arm when spooning someone,” Shiro says. 

The tension of the moment is broken and Keith inelegantly snorts a laugh through his nose, tucking his face down into the blankets as Shiro sighs contentedly against the nape of Keith’s neck. He can feel Keith shiver, pressed up against each other as they are despite the warmth from the fire. Before he can think about it or stop himself, Shiro tilts his head and finds himself pressing his lips gently to the warm tender skin just behind Keith’s left ear. 

“Shiro,” Keith sighs. 

“You make everything worth it,” Shiro confesses softly, kissing the side of his neck again. Keith shifts around again, this time so they’re fully face to face and when Shiro leans forward he’s met by Keith’s lips, soft and plush against his own. His whole body feels like it’s humming and he lets himself press forward as Keith responds in kind, pausing only to smile for a second, rubbing his nose affectionately against Shiro’s cheek before returning for more. 

The storm clears by the planet’s morning and Shiro and Keith only pause to check in with the other Lions through their comms to let them know they’ll be back soon, but were delayed by a storm before they start making their way back to Black. The planet’s twin suns are shining and the trees are lit up, their branches working like prisms to shine brilliant rainbow light all around them as they walk, Keith’s wolf padding happily behind them. 

“When you saw us here, how much did you see?” Shiro asks. 

“Not that much,” Keith replies, pausing. “I saw the trees, the path. The room we stayed in and the colors of the fire. I didn’t see this.” He leans up and presses his lips briefly against Shiro’s. When he pulls back his expression is soft and pleased, and Shiro can’t help but mirror it. 

“So this part was all just us,” Shiro says, he slips his hand into Keith’s and they continue walking. “Or do you think this was always meant to happen? Like fate?” 

“I don’t know,” Keith says with an easy shrug. “But whether it was fate or just chance, I’ll always choose you.”


End file.
